Pepper hybrid dr3914pb

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and the parent lines thereof. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and the parent lines thereof, and to methods for producing a pepper plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another pepper plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Appl. Ser. No.62/198,019, filed Jul. 28, 2015, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and theinbred pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a pepper plant of thehybrid designated DR3914PB, the pepper line SBRXZ12-0037 or pepper lineSBO-182-SUPPLY. Also provided are pepper plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of such a plant. Partsof these pepper plants are also provided, for example, including pollen,an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid DR3914PBand/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY comprising an addedheritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise a geneticlocus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. In oneembodiment of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and/orpepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY is defined as comprising asingle locus conversion. In specific embodiments of the invention, anadded genetic locus confers one or more traits such as, for example,herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, and modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the trait may beconferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into the genome of aline by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or a transgeneintroduced through genetic transformation techniques into the plant or aprogenitor of any previous generation thereof. When introduced throughtransformation, a genetic locus may comprise one or more genesintegrated at a single chromosomal location.

The invention also concerns the seed of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and/orpepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY. The pepper seed of theinvention may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population ofpepper seed of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037and SBO-182-SUPPLY. Essentially homogeneous populations of seed aregenerally free from substantial numbers of other seed. Therefore, seedof hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLYmay be defined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed,including at least about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. The seedpopulation may be separately grown to provide an essentially homogeneouspopulation of pepper plants designated DR3914PB and/or pepper linesSBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a pepper plant of hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper linesSBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating pepper plants capable ofexpressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe starting plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially thesame genotype as the starting plant. Examples of some of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the hybrid DR3914PBand/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY include those traitsset forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in such tissuecultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistils, flowers,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides pepperplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of hybridDR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing pepper seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent pepper plant with a second parentpepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent pepperplants is a plant of pepper line SBRXZ12-0037 or pepper lineSBO-182-SUPPLY. These processes may be further exemplified as processesfor preparing hybrid pepper seed or plants, wherein a first pepper plantis crossed with a second pepper plant of a different, distinct genotypeto provide a hybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant of pepperline SBRXZ12-0037 or pepper line SBO-182-SUPPLY. In these processes,crossing will result in the production of seed. The seed productionoccurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent pepper plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent pepper plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent pepper plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent pepper plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a pepper plant or hybrid pepperplant.

The present invention also provides the pepper seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent pepper plant with asecond parent pepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent pepper plants is a plant of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepperlines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY. In one embodiment of theinvention, pepper seed and plants produced by the process are firstgeneration (F₁) hybrid pepper seed and plants produced by crossing aplant in accordance with the invention with another, distinct plant. Thepresent invention further contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybridpepper plant, and methods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplaryembodiments of the invention provide an F₁ hybrid pepper plant and seedthereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper linesSBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY, the method comprising the steps of: (a)preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepperlines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY, wherein said preparing comprisescrossing a plant of the hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037and SBO-182-SUPPLY with a second plant; and (b) crossing the progenyplant with itself or a second plant to produce a seed of a progeny plantof a subsequent generation. In further embodiments, the method mayadditionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration from said seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generationand crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself ora second plant; and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10generations to produce a plant derived from hybrid DR3914PB and/orpepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY. The plant derived fromhybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY maybe an inbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing steps may bedefined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line.In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plants resultingfrom step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). Byselecting plants having one or more desirable traits, a plant derivedfrom hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLYis obtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of theline/hybrid as well as potentially other selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pepperhybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting atleast one pepper from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofpepper hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 andSBO-182-SUPPLY is provided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used torefer to the aggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of whichsequences defines the phenotype of, in the present case, a pepper plant,or a cell or tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thus representsthe genetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid geneticcomplement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue orplant. The invention thus provides pepper plant cells that have agenetic complement in accordance with the pepper plant cells disclosedherein, and seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid DR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037and SBO-182-SUPPLY could be identified by any of the many well knowntechniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by pepper plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a pepper plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second pepper plant, preferably, another, distinctpepper plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a pepperplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of pepper hybrid DR3914PB, pepper lineSBRXZ12-0037 and pepper line SBO-182-SUPPLY.

Hybrid DR3914PB produces tall vigorous crop with enough side shootgrowth, generative, good regular setting and resetting, with high fruitload and high yield. The first fruit elongated size is 75-80 mm with anaverage fruit weight of 180 g, first setting sometimes longer stalk. Thefruits color slowly. Hybrid DR3914PB has fruit weight of 200 g in thesummer. Hybrid DR3914PB is suitable for 2-3 and 4 stem system.

Hybrid DR3914PB is a red blocky pepper that grows for approximately 11months in a greenhouse on 3 stems per plant. About 3.5 month afterplanting, which is about 7 weeks after sowing, the first full coloredfruits can be harvested, and weekly thereafter until the end of thecrop. DR3914PB has a lighter red color than variety Red Line. The fruitsof DR3914PB are in the beginning of the season a bit longer than thefruits of Red Line. Also the average fruit weight is a bit less in theearly season, while in the summer the fruit weight of DR3914PB is higherthan the weight fruit of Red Line.

DR3914PB is a bit later in production than variety Maranello, but thetotal production is about 10% higher at the end of the season. Theaverage fruit weight of DR3914PB is substantially lower than Maranelloin the early season and a bit lower later in the season. The averagefruit weight of DR3914PB is more regular throughout the year.

Parent line SBO-182-SUPPLY was disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/460,491 filed on Aug. 14, 2014.

A. ORIGIN AND BREEDING HISTORY OF PEPPER HYBRID DR3914PB

The parents of hybrid DR3914PB are SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY. Theparent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybrid produced therefrom.A small percentage of variants can occur within commercially acceptablelimits for almost any characteristic during the course of repeatedmultiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PEPPER HYBRIDDR3914PB, PEPPER LINE SBRXZ12-0037 AND PEPPER LINE SBO-182-SUPPLY

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and the parent lines thereof.A description of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofsuch plants is presented in Tables 1-3.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of HybridDR3914PB CHARACTERISTIC DR3914PB Maranello 1. Species C. annuum C.annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability) days fromtransplanting until 95.0  88   mature green stage days fromtransplanting until 116.0  114    mature red or yellow stage days fromdirect seeding until 114.0  107    mature green stage days from directseeding until 135.0  133    mature red or yellow stage Seedlinganthocyanin coloration of hypcotyl moderate moderate 3. Plant habitsemi-spreading semi-spreading attitude upright/erect upright/erect plantheight 172.1 cm 150.3 cm plant width 36.3 cm 39.3 cm length of stem fromcotyledon 28.6 cm 29.0 cm to first flower length of the third internode122.7 mm 111.3 mm (from soil surface) length of stem medium mediumshortened internode (in upper absent absent part) For varieties withoutshortened short short internodes only: Plant length of internode (onprimary side shoots) stem: hairiness of nodes weak weak height tall tallbasal branches none none branch flexibility willowy rigid stem strength(breakage weak intermediate resistance) 4. Leaf length of blade longlong width of blade broad broad width 132.9 mm 130.0 mm length 229.8 mm235.9 mm petiole length 77.9 mm 90.7 mm color dark green dark greencolor (RHS Color Chart value) N137b N137b intensity of green color darkmature leaf shape ovate ovate leaf and stem pubescence light moderateblistering very weak weak profile in cross section flat flat glossinessstrong strong 5. Flower peduncle: attitude erect/semi-drooping erectflowers per leaf axil 1.0 1   calyx lobes 6.3 6.7 petals 6.3 6.5diameter 28.0 mm 30.1 mm corolla color white white corolla throatmarkings yellow yellow anther color purple purple style length exceedsstamen exceeds stamen self-incompatibility absent absent 6. Fruit groupBell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) color (before maturity)green green intensity of color (before dark dark maturity) immaturefruit color dark green dark green immature fruit color (RHS 141a 141aColor Chart value) attitude/position drooping/pendent drooping/pendentlength short short diameter medium broad ratio length/diameter smallsmall calyx diameter 34.9 mm 32.2 mm fruit length 99.7 mm 88.2 mm fruitdiameter at calyx 78.3 mm 84.8 mm attachment fruit diameter at mid-point77.1 mm 82.3 mm flesh thickness at mid-point 8.7 mm 9.6 mm averagenumber of fruits per 9.7 8.6 plant % large fruits 20.0% weight 93.0%weight range: >250 gr range: >250 gr. % medium fruits 73.0% weight 6.6%weight range: 170 to 250 gr. range: 170 to 250 gr. % small fruits 6.6%weight 0.0% weight range: <170 gr. range: <170 gr. average fruit weight230.9 gm 278.7 gm fruit shape (longitudinal rectangular rectangularsection) fruit shape (cross section, at angular/tri-angularangular/tri-angular level of placenta) quad-rangular quad-rangularsinuation of pericarp at basal weak weak part sinuation of pericarpexcluding weak weak basal part texture of surface smooth or very smoothor very slightly wrinkled slightly wrinkled surface smoothness smoothsmooth color (at maturity) red red intensity of color (at maturity) darkmature fruit color red red mature fruit color (RHS Color n34a 46A Chartvalue) glossiness strong strong stalk cavity present present depth ofstalk cavity medium medium pedicel length 55.2 mm 59.5 mm pedicelthickness 11.6 mm 11.7 mm pedicel shape curved curved pedicel cavitypresent present Depth of pedicel cavity 14.2 mm 15.7 mm stalk: lengthmedium medium stalk: thickness medium medium base shape cupped cuppedapex shape blunt blunt shape of apex moderately depressed very depressedshape Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) set concentratedconcentrated number of locules predominantly three equally three andfour % fruits with one locule   0% 0% % fruits with two locules  6.7% 0%% fruits with three locules 80.0% 46.7%   % fruits with four locules13.3% 53.3%   % fruits with five or more   0% 0% locules average numberof locules 3.0 3.5 thickness of flesh thin thin calyx: aspectnon-enveloping/ non-enveloping/ saucer shaped saucer-shaped pungencysweet sweet capsaicin in placenta absent absent flavor mild pepperflavor moderate pepper flavor glossiness shiny shiny 7. Seed seed cavitylength 73.8 mm 75.8 mm seed cavity diameter 55.4 mm 60.9 mm placentalength 25.3 mm 20.6 mm number of seeds per fruit 150.2  200.7  grams per1000 seeds 8.4 gm 6.9 gm color yellow yellow 8. Anthocyanin colorationof: stem moderate weak nodes moderate moderate leaf weak weak pedicelabsent absent calyx absent absent anther present present anthocyanincoloration weak moderate time of maturity early early *These are typicalvalues. Values may vary due to environment. Other values that aresubstantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineSBRXZ12-0037 CHARACTERISTIC SBRXZ12-0037 Maranello 1. Species C. annuumC. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability) days fromtransplanting until 95   88   mature green stage days from transplantinguntil 122    114    mature red or yellow stage days from direct seedinguntil 114    107    mature green stage days from direct seeding until141    133    mature red or yellow stage Seedling anthocyanin colorationof hypcotyl moderate moderate 3. Plant habit semi-spreadingsemi-spreading attitude upright/erect upright/erect plant height 164.7cm 150.3 cm plant width 38.9 cm 39.3 cm length of stem from cotyledon22.4 cm 29.0 cm to first flower length of the third internode 102.0 mm111.3 mm (from soil surface) shortened internode (in upper absent absentpart) For varieties without shortened short short internodes only: Plantlength of internode (on primary side shoots) stem: hairiness of nodesweak weak height tall tall basal branches none none branch flexibilitywillowy rigid stem strength (breakage intermediate intermediateresistance) 4. Leaf length of blade long long width of blade broad broadwidth 124.9 mm 130.0 mm length 226.9 mm 235.9 mm petiole length 85.0 mm90.7 mm color dark green dark green color (RHS Color Chart value) N137bN137b mature leaf shape ovate ovate leaf and stem pubescence lightmoderate undulation of margin medium blistering weak weak profile incross section flat flat glossiness strong strong 5. Flower peduncle:attitude erect/semi-drooping erect flowers per leaf axil 1   1   calyxlobes 6.5 6.7 petals 6.2 6.5 diameter 29.8 mm 30.1 mm corolla colorwhite white corolla throat markings yellow yellow anther color purplepurple style length exceeds stamen exceeds stamen self-incompatibilityabsent absent 6. Fruit group Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.)color (before maturity) green green immature fruit color medium green/dark green dark green immature fruit color (RHS 141a 141a Color Chartvalue) attitude/position drooping/pendent drooping/pendent length shortshort diameter medium broad ratio length/diameter small small calyxdiameter 36.1 mm 32.2 mm fruit length 96.8 mm 88.2 mm fruit diameter atcalyx 75.5 mm 84.8 mm attachment fruit diameter at mid-point 74.4 mm82.3 mm flesh thickness at mid-point 8.8 mm 9.6 mm average number offruits per 0.0 0.0 plant % large fruits 0.0% weight 93.0% weightrange: >250 gr range: >250 gr. % medium fruits 86.6% weight 6.6% weightrange: 170 to 250 gr. range: 170 to 250 gr. % small fruits 13.3% weight0.0% weight range: <170 gr. range: <170 gr. average fruit weight 209.9gm 278.7 gm fruit shape (longitudinal rectangular rectangular section)fruit shape (cross section, at angular/tri-angular angular/tri-angularlevel of placenta) quad-rangular quad-rangular sinuation of pericarp atbasal weak weak part texture of surface smooth or very smooth or veryslightly wrinkled slightly wrinkled surface smoothness smooth smoothcolor (at maturity) red red mature fruit color red red mature fruitcolor (RHS Color n34a 46A Chart value) glossiness strong strong stalkcavity present present depth of stalk cavity medium medium pedicellength 62.8 mm 59.5 mm pedicel thickness 11.9 mm 11.7 mm pedicel shapecurved curved pedicel cavity present present Depth of pedicel cavity13.5 mm 15.7 mm stalk: length long medium stalk: thickness medium mediumbase shape cupped/rounded cupped apex shape blunt blunt shape of apexmoderately depressed very depressed shape Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell(Yolo Wonder L.) set concentrated concentrated number of loculespredominantly three equally three and four % fruits with one locule   0%0% % fruits with two locules  6.7% 0% % fruits with three locules 80.0%46.7%   % fruits with four locules 13.3% 53.3%   % fruits with five ormore   0% 0% locules average number of locules 3.1 3.5 thickness offlesh thin thin calyx: aspect non-enveloping/ non-enveloping/ saucershaped saucer-shaped pungency sweet sweet capsaicin in placenta absentabsent flavor moderate pepper flavor moderate pepper flavor glossinessshiny shiny 7. Seed seed cavity length 73.9 mm 75.8 mm seed cavitydiameter 55.3 mm 60.9 mm placenta length 24.4 mm 20.6 mm number of seedsper fruit 159.5  200.7  grams per 1000 seeds 10.7 gm 6.9 gm color yellowyellow 8. Anthocyanin coloration of: stem weak weak nodes moderatemoderate leaf weak weak pedicel absent absent calyx absent absent antherpresent present anthocyanin coloration weak moderate beginning offlowering (1^(st) early early flower on 2^(nd) flowering node) *Theseare typical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other valuesthat are substantially equivalent are also within the scope of theinvention.

TABLE 3 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineSBO-182-SUPPLY CHARACTERISTIC SBO-182-SUPPLY Oranje Glory 1. Species C.annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability) days fromtransplanting until 78.5  76.5  mature green stage days fromtransplanting until 97.5  96.5  mature red or yellow stage days fromdirect seeding until 95.5  93.5  mature green stage days from directseeding until 114.5  113.5  mature red or yellow stage 3. Plant habitsemi-spreading semi-spreading attitude semi-upright/semi-semi-upright/semi- erect (Clovis, Sonar) erect plant height 132.2 cm123.9 cm plant width 73 cm 70.4 cm length of stem from cotyledon 32.8 cm22.5 cm to first flower length of the third internode 132 mm 130.7 mm(from soil surface) length of stem medium (Belsir, medium Lamuyo)shortened internode (in upper absent (California absent part) wonder, DeCayenne) length of internode (on short (Bandero, Blondy, medium primaryside shoots) Danubia, Tenor) stem: hairiness of nodes medium (Doux trèslong medium des Landes, Farnese) height tall (Century, Orias) tall basalbranches none none branch flexibility willowy (Cayenne Long willowy Red)stem strength (breakage intermediate intermediate resistance) 4. Leaflength of blade medium (Atol, Blondy, medium Marconi, Merit, Anthea)width of blade medium (Albaregia, medium Balaton, Danubia, Marconi,Merit) width 164.3 mm 150.2 mm length 261 mm 240.5 mm petiole length127.4 mm 116 mm color dark green dark green color (RHS Color ChartN137-A N137-A value) intensity of green color dark (Dolmy, Tinto) darkmature leaf shape ovate (Balico, Sonar) ovate leaf and stem pubescencelight light undulation of margin medium (Tenor) medium blistering medium(Merit) medium profile in cross section moderately concave moderatelyconvex (Doux italien, Favolor) glossiness medium (Alby, Eolo) strong 5.Flower peduncle: attitude semi-drooping (Blondy) semi-drooping flowersper leaf axil 1   1   calyx lobes 6.4 7   petals 6.2 6   diameter 34.4mm 33.05 mm corolla color white white corolla throat markings yellowyellow anther color purple purple style length same as stamen same asstamen self-incompatibility absent absent 6. Fruit group Bell (YoloWonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) color (before maturity) green(California green wonder, Lamuyo) intensity of color (before dark darkmaturity) immature fruit color dark green dark green immature fruitcolor (RHS 137A 137 A Color Chart value) attitude/positiondrooping/pendent (De drooping/pendent Cayenne, Lamuyo) length medium(Fehér, medium Lamuyo) diameter medium (Doux italien, medium Corno ditoro) ratio length/diameter medium (Adra, Cherry medium Sweet, Daniel,Delphin, Edino) calyx diameter 31.2 mm 34.8 mm fruit length 67.4 mm 79.2mm fruit diameter at calyx 65.9 mm 77.1 mm attachment fruit diameter atmid-point 81.2 mm 82.4 mm flesh thickness at mid-point 7.5 mm 8.8 mmaverage number of fruits per 12.8  10.1  plant % large fruits 21 (weightrange: 230.6 20 (weight range 230.6 to 376.8) to 376.8) % medium fruits61 (weight range: 150.2 70 (weight range 150.2 to 229.9) to 229.9) %small fruits 18.00 (weight range: 10 (weight range 69.9 69.9 to 149.4)to 149.4) average fruit weight 179.9 gm 225.2 gm fruit shape(longitudinal square (Delphin, Yolo square section) Wonder) fruit shape(cross section, at angular/tri-angular angular/tri-angular level ofplacenta) (Vinedale) sinuation of pericarp at basal weak (Donat) weakpart sinuation of pericarp absent or very weak absent or very weakexcluding basal part (Delphin, Milord) texture of surface smooth or veryslightly smooth or very wrinkled (Milord) slightly wrinkled color (atmaturity) orange (Ariane) oranje intensity of color (at maturity) mediummedium mature fruit color orange orange mature fruit color (RHS ColorN25A N25A Chart value) glossiness very strong/shiny very strong/shiny(Floridor, Kappy) stalk cavity present (Bingor, present Lamuyo) depth ofstalk cavity medium (Lamuyo, medium Magister) pedicel length 37.5 mm58.1 mm pedicel thickness 9 mm 12.9 mm pedicel shape curved curvedpedicel cavity present present depth of pedicel cavity 14.3 mm 13.9 mmstalk: length medium (Fehér, Sonar) long stalk: thickness medium (Douxitalien, medium Surpas) base shape cupped cupped shape of apexmoderately depressed moderately depressed (Quadrate a'Asti rosso) shapeBell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) set scattered scattereddepth of interloculary grooves shallow (Milord, shallow Topgirl) numberof locules predominantly three predominantly three (Century) % fruitswith one locule 0% 0% % fruits with two locules 0% 0% % fruits withthree locules 40%  63.35%    % fruits with four locules 56.60%   36.65%    % fruits with five locules 3.35%   0% average number oflocules 3.4 3.4 thickness of flesh medium (Fehér, medium Lamuyo) calyx:aspect non-enveloping/saucer- non-enveloping/ shaped (Lamuyo, Sonar)saucer-shaped pungency sweet sweet capsaicin in placenta absent (Sonar)absent flavor moderate pepper flavor moderate pepper flavor glossinessshiny shiny 7. Seed seed cavity length 52.9 mm 51.9 mm seed cavitydiameter 60.5 mm 57.2 mm placenta length 24.8 mm 21.4 mm number of seedsper fruit 118.3  187    grams per 1000 seeds 8.8 gm 8 gm color yellowyellow 8. Anthocyanin seedling hypocotyl moderate moderate stem weakweak node strong (California strong wonder) stem: intensity ofanthocyanin strong (Piquant medium coloration of nodes d'Algérie, Zarai)pedicel weak moderate calyx absent absent anther present (Lamuyo)present fruit coloration weak absent beginning of flowering (1^(st)early (Carré doux extra early flower on 2^(nd) flowering node) hâtif,Cupido, Fehér, Flaviano, Lito, Trophy) time of maturity medium (Lamuyo,medium Latino, Sonar) *These are typical values. Values may vary due toenvironment. Other values that are substantially equivalent are alsowithin the scope of the invention.

C. BREEDING PEPPER PLANTS

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof pepper hybrid DR3914PB involving crossing pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037and SBO-182-SUPPLY. Alternatively, in other embodiments of theinvention, hybrid DR3914PB, line SBRXZ12-0037, or line SBO-182-SUPPLYmay be crossed with itself or with any second plant. Such methods can beused for propagation of hybrid DR3914PB and/or the pepper linesSBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY, or can be used to produce plants thatare derived from hybrid DR3914PB and/or the pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037and SBO-182-SUPPLY. Plants derived from hybrid DR3914PB and/or thepepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY may be used, in certainembodiments, for the development of new pepper varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid DR3914PB followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross withDR3914PB and/or pepper lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY for thepurpose of developing novel pepper lines, it will typically be preferredto choose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or moreselected desirable characteristics or which exhibit the desiredcharacteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirabletraits may include, in specific embodiments, high seed yield, high seedgermination, seedling vigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance orresistance, and adaptability for soil and climate conditions.Consumer-driven traits, such as a fruit shape, color, texture, and tasteare other examples of traits that may be incorporated into new lines ofpepper plants developed by this invention.

D. FURTHER EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those pepper plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalpepper plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental pepper plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a pepper plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny pepper plants of a backcross in which a plantdescribed herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired traitfrom the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of pepper the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of pepper plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

E. PLANTS DERIVED BY GENETIC ENGINEERING

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S);1 the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988); the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem;the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter; a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a pepper plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a pepper plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

F. DEFINITIONS

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent. Marker: A readily detectable phenotype,preferably inherited in codominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in adiploid heterozygote are readily detectable), with no environmentalvariance component, i.e., heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) color chart value: The RHS color chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS color chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a peppervariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a pepper plant by transformation.

G. DEPOSIT INFORMATION

A deposit of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and inbred parent lines SBRXZ12-0037and SBO-182-SUPPLY, disclosed above and recited in the claims, has beenmade with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 UniversityBlvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The dates of deposit were Jul. 27,2015, Jul. 27, 2015, and Apr. 17, 2014, respectively. The accessionnumbers for those deposited seeds of pepper hybrid DR3914PB and inbredparent lines SBRXZ12-0037 and SBO-182-SUPPLY are ATCC Accession No.PTA-122331, ATCC Accession No. PTA-122330, and ATCC Accession No.PTA-121170, respectively. Upon issuance of a patent, all restrictionsupon the deposits will be removed, and the deposits are intended to meetall of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. The deposits will bemaintained in the depository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years afterthe last request, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever islonger, and will be replaced if necessary during that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pepper plant comprising at least a first set ofthe chromosomes of pepper line SBRXZ12-0037, a sample of seed of saidline having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122330.
 2. Apepper seed comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepperline SBRXZ12-0037, a sample of seed of said line having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number PTA-122330.
 3. The plant of claim 1, whichis an inbred.
 4. The plant of claim 1, which is a hybrid.
 5. The seed ofclaim 2, which is an inbred.
 6. The seed of claim 2, which is a hybrid.7. The plant of claim 4, wherein the hybrid plant is pepper hybridDR3914PB, a sample of seed of said hybrid DR3914PB having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number PTA-122331.
 8. The seed of claim 6, definedas a seed of pepper hybrid DR3914PB, a sample of seed of said hybridDR3914PB having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122331.9. The seed of claim 2, defined as a seed of line SBRXZ12-0037.
 10. Aplant part of the plant of claim
 1. 11. The plant part of claim 10,further defined as a leaf, an ovule, pollen, a fruit, or a cell.
 12. Apepper plant having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the pepper plant of claim
 7. 13. A tissue culture ofregenerable cells of the plant of claim
 1. 14. The tissue cultureaccording to claim 13, comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant partselected from the group consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons,pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed andstalks.
 15. A pepper plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim13.
 16. A method of vegetatively propagating the pepper plant of claim 1comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of beingpropagated from the plant according to claim 1; (b) cultivating saidtissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rooting said proliferatedshoots to obtain rooted plantlets.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising growing at least a first pepper plant from said rootedplantlets.
 18. A method of introducing a desired trait into a pepperline comprising: (a) utilizing as a recurrent parent a plant of pepperline SBRXZ12-0037, by crossing a plant of pepper line SBRXZ12-0037 witha second donor pepper plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1progeny, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-122330; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprisesthe desired trait; (c) backcrossing the selected F1 progeny with a plantof the same pepper line used as the recurrent parent in step (a), toproduce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcross progeny comprisingthe desired trait and the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent pepper line used in step (a);and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times to produceselected fourth or higher backcross progeny that comprise the desiredtrait, and otherwise comprise essentially all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the recurrent parent pepper line usedin step (a).
 19. A pepper plant produced by the method of claim
 18. 20.A method of producing a pepper plant comprising an added trait, themethod comprising introducing a transgene conferring the trait into aplant of pepper hybrid DR3914PB or pepper line SBRXZ12-0037, a sample ofseed of said hybrid and line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-122331 and ATCC Accession Number PTA-122330, respectively.21. A pepper plant produced by the method of claim
 20. 22. The plant ofclaim 1, further comprising a transgene.
 23. The plant of claim 22,wherein the transgene confers a trait selected from the group consistingof male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pestresistance, disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism,environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism andmodified protein metabolism.
 24. The plant of claim 1, furthercomprising a single locus conversion.
 25. The plant of claim 24, whereinthe single locus conversion confers a trait selected from the groupconsisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance,pest resistance, disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism,environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism andmodified protein metabolism.
 26. A method for producing a seed of apepper plant derived from at least one of pepper hybrid DR3914PB orpepper line SBRXZ12-0037 comprising the steps of: (a) crossing a pepperplant of hybrid DR3914PB or line SBRXZ12-0037 with itself or a secondpepper plant; a sample of seed of said hybrid and line having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122331 and ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-122330, respectively; and (b) allowing seed of a hybridDR3914PB or line SBRXZ12-0037-derived pepper plant to form.
 27. A methodof producing a seed of a hybrid DR3914PB or line SBRXZ12-0037-derivedpepper plant comprising the steps of: (a) producing a hybrid DR3914PB orline SBRXZ12-0037-derived pepper plant from a seed produced by crossinga pepper plant of hybrid DR3914PB or line SBRXZ12-0037 with itself or asecond pepper plant, a sample of seed of said hybrid and line havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122331 and ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-122330, respectively; and (b) crossing the hybrid DR3914PB orline SBRXZ12-0037-derived pepper plant with itself or a different pepperplant to obtain a seed of a further hybrid DR3914PB or lineSBRXZ12-0037-derived pepper plant.
 28. The method of claim 27, furthercomprising repeating said producing and crossing steps of (a) and (b)using a seed from said step (b) for producing a plant according to step(a) for at least one generation to produce a seed of an additionalhybrid DR3914PB or line SBRXZ12-0037-derived pepper plant.
 29. A plantpart of the plant of claim
 7. 30. The plant part of claim 29, furtherdefined as a leaf, a flower, a fruit, an ovule, pollen, or a cell.
 31. Amethod of producing a pepper seed comprising crossing the plant of claim1 with itself or a second pepper plant and allowing seed to form.
 32. Amethod of producing a pepper fruit comprising: (a) obtaining the plantaccording to claim 1, wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity;and (b) collecting a pepper from the plant.